Yeah, fork eczema! I've had it on my hands for about 10 years and it's so annoying/painful. I'm fortunate in that it's mostly confined to my hands and responds fairly well to topical steroids. I had a patch on my right thumb and hand that flared up off and on for over 4 years and never really healed. My new doctor prescribed me Triamcinolone Acetonide cream 0.1% and that spot finally healed within a couple weeks. It felt like a miracle. I can always tell when I'm getting stressed because I start getting itchy spots within days.

Here is a lovely shot of my left hand after doing the dishes, with gloves and I slather my hands in african black soap lotion first. My garden is overgrown and i've been getting dressed right out of the laundry basket for a month (except when I asked Brian to fold all of my laundry and almost cried and he did it, like three loads because he is the best). I don't want to touch anything, I certainly don't want to get sweaty because I don't want to shower unless I absolutely have to (hors d'oeuvre's bath, what what). Just kill me. This 100+ degree weather is going to make me saw my hands off.

The worst is when other people mention it though! Like, it sucks but i'm used to the peeling and itching and occasional pain, but someone is like, "Hey, your hands." And i'm like, "Gee dick, thanks for making me self conscious when i'm usually able to ignore it."

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

Ow that looks so painful, MBM. I just got eczema on my fingertips for the first time, like yours but not nearly as bad. I had to wear gloves to fold laundry and have started putting cream soaked bandaids on my fingertips at night. Stupid bodies, why you gotta be like this?

I'm giving probiotics a try this month! meganmydear saw my picture on flickr and said she knows a few people who swear by them for eczema. I found some stuff online saying there are better treatments, but I figured trying one bottle won't hurt, and I can't think of much else I could try besides a steroid cream.

Although funny enough, after I took that picture my hands have pretty well calmed down. But there's still the patch on my palm which was itchy a few days ago, and the bottom of my feet...did I mention my left foot has recently joined the party? Also possibly my scalp has eczema, obviously I can't see it but sometimes it gets super itchy and the only cure is to wash my hair ASAP. I normally wash my hair three times a week, but when my hands were really bad I scaled back to two and my scalp revolted. I had to kind of pick between my hands peeling off and my scalp bleeding from even gentle scratching.

So I guess the probiotics test will be if everything stays pretty calm.

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

I asked the doctor about it a few times last year and they prescribed steroid cream, but that doesn't make it feel any better and can only be used for a week or two because of the risk of thinning the skin. I want advice on some sort of moisturiser and I should probably go ask the doctor or pharmacist again, but I feel I should wait until the rash is at its most distinctive-looking stage: where I get tiny, tiny little raised bumps filled with clear fluid. At the moment it has changed to just red spots with some dry skin. Still itchy as fork most of the time though.

This could be dermatitis caused my either contact allergy or allergy to ingested food. I get horrible eczema like symptoms from several foods and 100's of contact items (dish soap, latex, acidic foods etc). The food allergies cause the rashes on my knees, elbows, and a couple of places on my fingers -- always the same places. I have a milk allergy (not intolerance but a true allergy) and before I changed diet, any amount of milk product would trigger horrible outbreaks of weeping little blisters and angry red dry skin).

I have an awesome product called oclucort, which I believe is discontinued, and it rocks. It acts like a sealer over the affected area and has a light topical steriod: takes the itch away, stops further degradation, and promotes healing. I have no idea why they stopped making it.

When I was a chef, my hands were really bad and I was almost forced to quit. Luckily a distant relative saw my hands and said I needed to take Oil of Primrose because hers were once in a similar state (Nursing is hard on the hands too) and she owed her continued career to Primrose.

Damned if it didn't work as advertised. I took the max dose for a week and then down to 2-3 a day and it brought all my outbreaks right under control. Along the years, I have encountered a handful of people suffering as I did and I pass on the information to them: they have all had the same results within a small period of time. It really works wonders for skin conditions.

As for salves that are not steroidal based, the psoriasis nurses here recommend using Ozonol because it eases the symptoms without the negative side effects. Ozonol has been around for years and it readily available in most stores.

So now that summer is over my hands are pretty much back to normal, but for the past few weeks my scalp has been going NUTS. It's not constant so no, I don't think I have lice or anything. But every few days my scalp starts to itch itch itch. I added tea tree oil to my conditioner and that helped, hopefully it doesn't come back because i'm do for getting my hairs done and I can't do that if my scalp is covered in scratches.

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

I have the worst patch on my knuckle of my pinky finger! It looks like a nightmare. I've been stressed and eating a ton of sugar though, so maybe I'll try to tone it down. My scalp is usually the worst problem area for me. It seems like if I don't wash my hair every other day, my scalp gets so crappy. I'm hoping switching to California Babies detangler and limiting other hair products will help.

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

It's back with a vengeance. I woke up this morning to find it had itched so badly while I was asleep that I completely scratched up my face. So now I can't even put my ointment on it, because now there are OPEN WOUNDS.

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

People keep asking if I have burnt my hand. I haven't, it is just the eczema.

I went to a doctor and they prescribed Oilatum- a moisturising lotion. It definitely helps, but the problem isn't clearing up. I'm almost finished the bottle so I booked another appointment to get more and see if they have any more advice, but couldn't get one til the 19th of December.

_________________An unprocessed chicken is walking around and clucking to itself. And yes, I think they're healthier that way too. - Tofulish

I get patches of eczema on my fingers. It usually flares up because I work in food service and have to wash my hands dozens of times during a shift. Lush's dream cream helps, but isn't always enough. This year, I bought some natralia herbal lotion (which smells lovely) and neem cream (which smells like insect repellant....because it does that too, I guess) and I'm hoping one of those will do the trick. Doctors have always prescribed me steroid creams, which is freakin' ridiculous considering that it thins the skin. No one wants hands with delicate butterfly skin, they're useless!

I pretty much have delicate butterfly skin at this point. It's so ridiculous but my thumbs and the tips of pointer and middle fingers, especially on my left hand (and i'm left handed) have pretty much been wiped of grippy fingerprints, so I have difficulty with opening things. I wish I could think of a specific example, but the pressure of trying to open some things (usually flip-caps, not like opening a jar of pasta sauce or something) does not feel good, so I have to ask Brian to open some really simple things.

CQ, how's your face?

_________________"The Tree is His Penis"

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

My first bought was in the 6th grade, coincidentally it started up right when I got a mouth full of braces, and I have a horrendous nickle allergy. Like many of you it will reside in a specific place for a good amount of time prior to moving on. For years I had it solely on my ankles and then occasional spots underneath my bust and along my mid-back from crappy sports bras that weren't wicking sweat. Currently it's on my shins, the underside of my right wrist, and in between my right index and middle finger (possibly the worst spot yet!). The current flair up on my right hand and fingers is from a new job that involves excessive hand washing. With it on my shins and ankles I have an easier time ignoring the need to scratch, but with it on my hands and wrists I can't ignore it because I'm constantly using them.

What's crazy to me is that it's probably been 3 years since I've had it on my mid-back and yet if my boyfriend is lightly scratching my back and he hits that spot, I'm like a dog kicking my leg. So it's like it's still there, but just beneath the skin.

I pretty much have delicate butterfly skin at this point. It's so ridiculous but my thumbs and the tips of pointer and middle fingers, especially on my left hand (and i'm left handed) have pretty much been wiped of grippy fingerprints, so I have difficulty with opening things. I wish I could think of a specific example, but the pressure of trying to open some things (usually flip-caps, not like opening a jar of pasta sauce or something) does not feel good, so I have to ask Brian to open some really simple things.

CQ, how's your face?

It's a little better now. Not 100%, but not so bad that I'm ripping it off in my sleep. Thanks for asking <3 How are your hands? Gaaah, that sounds terrible...I've occasionally had it between my fingers, but never on the fingertips.

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

What are y'alls favorite lotions, creams, and moisturizers for your eczema? I've learned over time that what will work amazingly for one person, causes an outbreak in another, but I figure we can share and maybe some of us can find a new cream they love.

For regular lotion that I keep in my purse, I use Eucerin's Professional Repair- I've just begun using this and I'm not sure I love it. I wish it was a bit thicker. I keep a tub of the Cerave moisturizing cream in my bathroom and slather it on after I wash my hands, getting out of the shower, and before bed. LOVE this stuff. It's nice and thick, has a neutral smell, and my skin drinks it in. I can tell a significant difference when I'm using the Cerave cream regularly. I've tried a lot of Lush stuff and other more natural products, but they've never done well with my skin.

and I didn't like relying on the steroid creams because it thins the skin (and I don't particularly want that thinned there, obvs), so I made a mix of oils that has helped quite a bit with healing.

I melted some coco butter and coconut oil, and then mixed in a little jojoba and some grapeseed oil to keep it softer in the cold house. Threw in some veggie DHA supplement (I won't do that again...), vit e and a dash of tea tree to keep it fresh. I have been putting a dab on, and following it with some neem aloe gel. I went with things as super natural as possible since this would be a mucus membrane. It seems to work just about as well as the steroid creams, though there have been a few times I've used them for a few days and gone back to the oils. Something like this may work well for regular eczema too. I've used this stuff as a moisturizer on my hands, etc (no eczema though) and it does make them nice and soft! So it might be helpful as well.

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear

Stress is the most common trigger, and mine is always worse in the summer. Although it's gotten a LOT better over the years, when I started cutting down on dairy I noticed a big change, but food triggers vary from person to person.

Is that what that is?! I've gotten that on my feet every spring and summer since I was a kid, and never knew what it was.. It drives me up the wall! I remember when I was little, I would find my hairbrush and just scratch it manically for hours.

CQ! Yikes! Yeah, that sucks. Hopefully it stays away from the most...sensitive...places.

It's not quite in mucous membrane land but it's definitely in sensitive places. If I had been sexually active at any remotely recent time I would be running, not walking, to get this checked out...but it's literally impossible that it could be anything like that, I'm sorry/relieved to say. It forking itches so much that if I touch it I feel like I'm going to vomit. But I checked it out with a hand mirror and there's nothing even visible to see besides just being red from the irritation. I'm half tempted to think it's just all in my head, except that I swear to god I had no idea it was even possible for anything to itch this much.

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

CQ! Yikes! Yeah, that sucks. Hopefully it stays away from the most...sensitive...places.

It's not quite in mucous membrane land but it's definitely in sensitive places. If I had been sexually active at any remotely recent time I would be running, not walking, to get this checked out...but it's literally impossible that it could be anything like that, I'm sorry/relieved to say. It forking itches so much that if I touch it I feel like I'm going to vomit. But I checked it out with a hand mirror and there's nothing even visible to see besides just being red from the irritation. I'm half tempted to think it's just all in my head, except that I swear to god I had no idea it was even possible for anything to itch this much.

Well, its still better to do something even without the being sexually active thing. Itching sucks and all that.

I always thought that natural after-sun aloe is a good soother. I've made the cream mentioned above and its helped a lot too. Steroid creams of course...

_________________Evolved a vascular system, so I went from bryophyte to lycophyte.

The tree is his penis // it's very exciting // when held up to his mouth // the lights are all lighting // his eyes start a-bulging // in unbridled glee // the tree is his penis // its beauty, effulgent -amandabear